A variety of light-emitting devices exist that utilize diode-based light sources. For example, such devices utilize light emitting diodes (LEDs) that are configured to emit visible light, infrared (IR) diodes for emitting IR light, and ultraviolet (UV) diodes for emitting UV light.
In light devices that utilize a diode-based light source, the diode may include pins that are connected to electrical wiring for providing power to the diode. Other devices use surface-mounted diodes, in which each diode is affixed to a mounting plate that includes solder pads. Electrical power connections may be soldered onto these pads to provide the LED power. Examples of such surface-mounted LEDs include the LUXEON™ Star LED module and the LUXEON Star/O LED module, which are currently available on the commercial market.
Various types of testing equipment are used for measuring the performance of LED devices. An example is an integrating sphere, which is a small sphere whose interior surface has a white reflective coating. The sphere is connected via fiber optic cable to a compact array spectrometer. Specifically, an LED device is fixed in relation to an opening of the integrating sphere, and light emitted from the LED device reflects the interior surface to the detector. Accordingly, various measurements of the LED device may be made, including luminous flux, wavelength, chromaticity, and spectral distribution.
To ensure the accuracy of measurements made by an integrating sphere, as well as other types of LED measurement devices, the location of the LED during testing must be known to a high degree of precision. Accordingly, a fixture must be used to secure the LED at a known location relative to the testing equipment.
However, it is also desirable to utilize testing equipment, such as the integrating sphere, to perform repeated measurements on multiple LED devices. However, while conducting repeated testing on a large number of LED devices, the process of securely placing each LED device into testing position with conventional fixtures is very time consuming. Also, another problem exists in that a constant emitter junction temperature must be maintained for each of the LED devices being tested in order to obtain accurate results.